How much Vram do you need for 4k gaming? and what gpu is best suited?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
bowzef

bowzef

Distinguished
Oct 18, 2010
543
1
19,010
I am in the market for 4k gaming, and i been having a issue in what GPU's to get
The following GPUs i am looking at are:
2x GTX 980s
2x R9 390x+new PSU
2x R9 Fury (none x)
my unsure list due to price
x2 GTX 980 Ti
x2 R9 Fury X

Now the GTX 980s have about 20% overclocking headroom, R9 390x don't got much overclocking headroom, but does have 8gb of GDDR5
if the 20% OC on Nivida out weighs the 8GBs of Vram i'm not sure for 4k.
Then there is recent R9 Fury [none x] they very few places to buy them, but they suppose be about 40-50+ more $ then GTX 980, but with HBM and 11% faster, not sure if it can Overclock on these cards though.
then the 980 Ti and Fury X, both overpriced and both ideal for 4k, thought i still feel 4gbs feels not right for 4k, but then again i wanna play 4k no AA max or so.

so there is my issue. is 4Gbs enough vram? with 20% boost in OC performance, or is 8GB best suited even though they power hungry as hell, and dont OC so well? longevity is important
i notice that if there was a non ti 6gb GTX 980 i would prob buy them, for the sweet spot , but they don't exist.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
guanyu210379

guanyu210379

Illustrious
Mar 30, 2007
7,684
25
38,115
4GB is definitely not enough for 4k gaming, especially if the dame is not optimized good enough, Shadow of Mordor as example.
I would get at least 6GB for 4k gaming.
Beside VRAM, you need a brutal brute force for 4k, 2x GTX980Tis on SLI should be ideal for now, or wait for Fury X.
GTX980s on SLI could be not strong enough for games like Witcher 3 on all ultra.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Manish Tewari

Manish Tewari

Reputable
Jul 10, 2014
407
0
4,960


For all the current games @ 4K VRAM about 4-6 At max

Best Suited GPU wld be Titan X @ $1000 ( It is an Over-over-kill :D )

Best recommended would be Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti. around $800

Best will work( no AA max for Few heavy games) - around the $300 range Nvidia’s GTX 970 is such a good deal along with $230-40-ish AMD's R9 380, comparison below

Higher clock 1,050 vs 918 ~15% higher - GTX970 wins
Higher mem-clock 7,012 vs 5,500 25+% higher - GTX970 wins
Higher pix/s 58.8 vs 29.4 2x higher - GTX970 wins
More rendering processors 56 vs 32 Way higher - GTX970 wins
Higher mem clock speed 1,753 MHz vs 1,375 25+% higher - GTX970 wins
Lower TDP 148W vs 190W > 20% lower

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
bowzef

bowzef

Distinguished
Oct 18, 2010
543
1
19,010

Problem with R390x in crossfire is that they are power hungry as hell, and they get hot fast in crossfire config

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
bowzef

bowzef

Distinguished
Oct 18, 2010
543
1
19,010
Ok if i get GTX 980 ti in sli, Should i get reference or aftermarket cooler, i will be overclocking them.
i do leave my side panel open on my current Gigabyte windforce cards , and have external Fan blowing on them, most likely use same method on 980 ti sli setup, but these cards run cooler then AMD cards, as long its 80c and under with heavy OC then il be happy
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
bowzef

bowzef

Distinguished
Oct 18, 2010
543
1
19,010
i have a feeling r9 390x MSI version in crossfire would be price to perfomance, as 2 GTX 980 Ti are $2000 AUD, and r9 390x is $1380 AUD, and i am aware that 980 ti's are faster, but i don't feel easy with that over priced 980 ti in australia , so i may have to get r9 390x and i hope i can get 60fps in most games with no AA at 4k. after looking at GTX 980 in sli they seem to run games fine at 60fps as long the AA is turned off. we got remember i dont wanna use AA at all, and that is a huge VRAM eater. do we really need 6gb or 8gbs? for 4k NO AA, because from all youtube videos i been seeing with current games they all about 4gb usage with out AA, so i have mixed feelings about it all, and i really think 980ti are too expensive i need to buy a monitor, and that totals at $3000 AUS and that just stupid high coz that does well over 60fps 4k no aa hell some games it can use AA 60fps+
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

Edward_13

Reputable
Nov 18, 2015
1
0
4,510
A common missconception is that the vram doubles when you use sli/crossfire. This is so so drastically wrong, the process in which memory is for the individual gpu's to process is rather complex. It is not a simple as adding 4+4=8 all the vram will not be utilised at once and therefore you should look into using a 8GB vram card like the 390x as a 980 is truly not sufficient at that desired resolution. The vram issue is one of the reasons why you will never receive 200% the performance of one card if you have two.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
maxalge

maxalge

Champion
Ambassador
May 31, 2012
13,373
4
56,960



gtx 980 ti is the best card


you will need minimum 2 gtx 980 ti's


and even then you will need to lower settings in most newer games



4k is a gpu HOG
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom